Mayors from northern Israel met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the Muqata in Ramallah on May 31. As reported in Al-Monitor, the gathering was organized and coordinated by the Committee for Interaction with Israel, headed by Mohammed Madani. At that meeting, which took place almost concurrently as Avigdor Liberman’s swearing-in as defense minister, Abbas surprised the participants when he said he was willing to meet with Liberman. The mayor of Ma’alot, Shlomo Bohbot, one of the Israeli organizers of the meeting, encouraged Abbas, telling him that Liberman is a far more pragmatic person than he is portrayed in the media.

Is Liberman really pragmatic? On June 15, Liberman ordered the revocation of Madani’s entry permit into Israel on the grounds that he had promoted subversion in Israel, attempted to intervene in its internal affairs and had even tried to establish a political party. The revocation of Madani’s entry permit means the muzzling of the committee that was created at the instruction of Abbas to establish a dialogue with Israeli society and convey the message that the Palestinian Authority seeks peace and does not engage in incitement and warmongering, as the Netanyahu government depicts it.

“I would be very glad to meet with our minister of defense, who has good intentions, in order to convince him that if we really want peace, dialogue is the way to get there,” Bohbot told Al-Monitor in response to Liberman’s order. “I know one thing,” Bohbot added. “If you close up a hole, water will get through another way. The decision [by Liberman] will force those who are interested in holding a dialogue [with the Palestinians] to do so abroad. So why not do it in Israel? All I’ve said assumes that we [in Israel] want to make peace. If we don’t want to, it’s a different story.” Bohbot also related that some members of the Knesset and mayors hold meetings with Palestinians abroad out of fear or embarrassment.

Ayelet Harel of the Women Wage Peace movement told Al-Monitor that she had met with members of Madani’s committee a number of times. “In all of the conversations I attended,” she said, “the committee members presented the audience with the Palestinian narrative for solving the conflict. There is someone to talk to today.”